Continue Your Song Moo Kwan Journey with us today!
The World Song Moo Kwan Federation (WSMKF) is a full-service organization dedicated to filling the needs of all Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do practitioners.
Founded in 2015 by Grandmaster Jeff Schare and guided into fruition with the help of Grandmaster Robert Frankovich, the World Song Moo Kwan Federation provides rank certification, seminars, curriculum assistance and guidance to instructors and individuals who are looking for traditional Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do training methods.
The World Song Moo Kwan Federation enables martial artists to have their ranks recognized and recorded worldwide.
The World Song Moo Kwan Federation is comprised of Grandmasters, Masters, Instructors and Students who wish to learn and train in traditional Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do and who realize Song Moo Kwan is a martial art and not a sport.
It is required that members adhere to the basic martial arts philosophy of Honor, Dignity and Respect.
Founded in 2015 by Grandmaster Jeff Schare and guided into fruition with the help of Grandmaster Robert Frankovich, the World Song Moo Kwan Federation provides rank certification, seminars, curriculum assistance and guidance to instructors and individuals who are looking for traditional Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do training methods.
The World Song Moo Kwan Federation enables martial artists to have their ranks recognized and recorded worldwide.
The World Song Moo Kwan Federation is comprised of Grandmasters, Masters, Instructors and Students who wish to learn and train in traditional Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do and who realize Song Moo Kwan is a martial art and not a sport.
It is required that members adhere to the basic martial arts philosophy of Honor, Dignity and Respect.
Core Values
Honor
The code of honor is based on the assumption that honor is the most valuable characteristic of every person. Honor is the external face of a dignified human being. The right to a person's dignity is one of the basic human rights and equally belongs to every man, no matter his or her age, sex, class, race etc.
Dignity
Dignity is one of the most important things to the human spirit. It means being valued and respected for what you are, what you believe in, and how you live your live.
Treating other people with dignity means treating them the way we’d like to be treated ourselves.
Respect
1: Respect Begins with the Master
Students and trainees look at their masters as role models. However, this is not because masters impose that students respect them. Students often feel that they are privileged to be working with people who can teach them skills they can use in life. Although these masters are held in high esteem, respect goes both ways. The students respect the master, and the master respects the students—regardless of positions of authority.
2: The Practice of Bowing
It is a common practice to bow, shake hands or fist bump before sparring starts. It is a symbol of respect towards the other player and a ceremonial obligation in many martial disciplines. It also means that you wish no harm to each other. The practice of bowing before a match is often one of the few things taught by masters.
3: The Difference Between Fear and Respect
When you think about martial arts, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is a combat sport. They are known to be brutal, painful, and physically demanding. In the wrong hands, someone’s knowledge of martial arts may be used to instill fear, among others. However, that should never be how martial arts is taught. It should promote respect and peace, never fear. Above all, it should only be used for self-defense, self-cultivation, and competition—never violence or harm.
4: Equal Grounds
There are different rankings in martial arts, and they are awarded depending on your skill level. Hierarchy is often used as a means to demand respect from people around you. However, it isn’t the case in martial arts. A master should treat all students equally, regardless of their ranking. After all, everyone can learn to be better, no matter their rank.
5: Respect Begins with Yourself
If you’re signing up for a martial arts class, it can teach you self-respect. After all, defending yourself involves respecting yourself. Martial arts can teach you not to let anyone take away the respect you have for yourself.
Students and trainees look at their masters as role models. However, this is not because masters impose that students respect them. Students often feel that they are privileged to be working with people who can teach them skills they can use in life. Although these masters are held in high esteem, respect goes both ways. The students respect the master, and the master respects the students—regardless of positions of authority.
2: The Practice of Bowing
It is a common practice to bow, shake hands or fist bump before sparring starts. It is a symbol of respect towards the other player and a ceremonial obligation in many martial disciplines. It also means that you wish no harm to each other. The practice of bowing before a match is often one of the few things taught by masters.
3: The Difference Between Fear and Respect
When you think about martial arts, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is a combat sport. They are known to be brutal, painful, and physically demanding. In the wrong hands, someone’s knowledge of martial arts may be used to instill fear, among others. However, that should never be how martial arts is taught. It should promote respect and peace, never fear. Above all, it should only be used for self-defense, self-cultivation, and competition—never violence or harm.
4: Equal Grounds
There are different rankings in martial arts, and they are awarded depending on your skill level. Hierarchy is often used as a means to demand respect from people around you. However, it isn’t the case in martial arts. A master should treat all students equally, regardless of their ranking. After all, everyone can learn to be better, no matter their rank.
5: Respect Begins with Yourself
If you’re signing up for a martial arts class, it can teach you self-respect. After all, defending yourself involves respecting yourself. Martial arts can teach you not to let anyone take away the respect you have for yourself.
Grandmasters & Masters
Board of Examiners
Grandmaster Jeff Schare
9th Dan
President
Grandmaster Jeff Schare is a 9th Dan Black Belt in Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do. GM Schare began his martial arts journey in 1972 at the age of nine years old under GM Il-Kwon Kim. GM Kim was a direct student of SGM Byung-Jick Ro, the founder of Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do. GM Schare was able to train with SGM Ro on several occasions in the 1970s. Another student of GM Kim, GM Ray Witte, took GM Schare under his wing and guided him up through the ranks. GM Witte was and continues to be a major influence in GM Schare's life. GM Schare has also trained in Hapkido and Shotokan Karate. GM Schare is a two-time Ohio State AAU Tae Kwon Do Champion and a Medalist in numerous National competitions.
GM Schare is a retired Homicide Detective with the Cincinnati Police Department and an expert in street self defense and police defensive tactics. GM Schare was one of the homicide detectives featured on the A&E show "The First 48" " and the Identification Discovery channel show “The Real Murders on Elm Street”.
Tae Kwon Do Timeline:
* September 1972 - Began training in Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do under SGM Il-Kwon Kim, a direct student of SGM Byung-Jick Ro, the Founder of Song Moo Kwan
* March 1975 - Promoted to Temporary 1st Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* April 1977 - Promoted to 1st Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* September 1981 - Promoted to 2nd Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* September 1985 - Promoted to 3rd Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* March 1990 - Promoted to 4th Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* June 1995 - Promoted to 5th Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* March 2000 - Promoted to 6th Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Il-Kwon Kim and Song Moo Kwan
* July 2006 - Promoted to 7th Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Hwa Chong and GM Karl Stolberg
* July 2014 - Promoted to 8th Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Hwa Chong
* July 2018 - Promoted to 8th Dan Black Belt; certified under SGM Joon-Pyo Choi and WSMKU
*July 2018 - 8th Dan Black Belt certified by AAU Taekwondo
* July 2018 - 8th Dan Black Belt certified by the United States Black Belt Federation
* August 2018 - Founded Cincinnati Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do Association
* September 2018 - Founded World Song Moo Kwan Federation
* July 2023 - Promoted to 9th Dan Black Belt; certified under World Song Moo Kwan Federation Board of Examiners
* July 2023 - 9th Dan Black Belt certified by the United States Black Belt Federation
Grandmaster Robert Frankovich
9th Dan
Vice President
Robert Frankovich was born and raised in Chisholm, MN. He attended Chisholm High School and graduated in 1980. Earning an Associate of Arts degree from Hibbing Community College and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1987 from the University of Wisconsin – Superior allowed him to begin working in the fitness industry. Later he went back to Hibbing Technical College and completed the law enforcement coursework necessary to become Minnesota POST eligible. He began working in the security industry in 1986 and since he has worked in proprietary and contact security as an armed and unarmed officer.In 1981, he found the opportunity to train in Taekwondo through the Karate North organization as part of Hibbing MN’s Community Education program and has continued his training since. When he moved to Superior, WI to complete his bachelor’s degree, he trained with the UW-Superior Karate North classes. His teaching started when Master Tom Sullivan asked him to the UM-Duluth Summer class in 1986. His training continued at UW-Superior and he started offering classes through community education in Superior and Duluth.In 1990, he changed his school name to Pine Tree Taekwondo, which has been re-branded to Song Moo Kwan Pan Song Ryu in 2020, to reflect the more traditional aspect that his teaching had developed toward. This is a result of his search for what Song Moo Kwan was. The first of his articles about Song Moo Kwan, an original school of Taekwondo, was published in 1994. He remained with the Karate North and earned the rank of 3rd Dan until 1996, when an opportunity was given to him to help build a new Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo organization. This new organization, in its original version, failed and he returned to Minnesota in late 1997.He began training at the North American Taekwondo Federation with Grandmaster Ro, Hee Sang, son of the Song Moo Kwan founder, and was promoted to 4th Dan before leaving the organization due to financial disagreements. In 2002, he contacted the American Song Moo Kwan Association, which had re-established itself after the initial attempt in 1996. He trained with their curriculum and was promoted to 5th Dan in August 2003. (View breaking demo from this test here). This was shortly before Master James Wohlwend took formal leadership of the organization.Since then, Robert has been working to collect information about Song Moo Kwan, its Masters and Grand Masters and the stories from the leaders. Toward this goal, he developed the International Song Moo Kwan Association (ISMKA) as a place to collect the names, stories and those who have lost their instructors or schools but do not want to lose their connection to Song Moo Kwan. Through the Masters working with the ISMKA, he was promoted to 6th Dan in 2009. The ISMKA has been put aside and the work done moved to the World Song Moo Kwan United organization to benefit the growth of Song Moo Kwan under the leadership of SGM Joon Choi.In 1990, after completing the law enforcement training, he decided that his martial arts training needed to be supplemented by an art that didn’t promote striking as the method of gaining control of a situation. It was at this time that he found Seidokan Aikido. A Northern Lights Aikido class at the Duluth YMCA taught by Brad Bergeron-sensei started the journey in Aikido. This seemed to be a natural direction to develop and train within now that he had completed the law enforcement training and testing with police and sheriff departments and didn’t feel the Taekwondo would be sufficient enough for working within a police/sheriff department. One of the governing concepts for Seidokan Aikdio was to bring the principles of Aikido into daily life. Shihan Roderick Kobayashi, founder of Seidokan Aikido believed that everything taught should have applications in daily life for anything from conflict resolution to promoting health and personal growth. Kobayashi-sensei’s insights were unique and the product of his years of training and as a student of Koichi Tohei-sensei. He received his Shodan certification in 1993 and was one to the last students promoted (to Nidan) before Kobayashi-sensei’s untimely death in 1995.ScabbardBlock-Thrust-1In August 2003, Robert had the opportunity to begin training in Haidong Gumdo, a Korean sword art. He continued working on the introductory curriculum and, in March 2005, connected with Master Laura Clements to further his training. He received his Master Instructor certification in November 2005 and is currently teaching classes as WTMA Haidong Gumdo.Interest in the curriculum grew quickly and branch schools were opened shortly after making connections with Master Laura. There are now ten masters who have joined Master Frankovich. The first black belt testing was held in December 2008. Three students received their certifications with one also joining the instructor’s program.The headquarters of Midwest Haidong Gumdo is the Twin Cities (Fridley) dojang. There are 13 Masters in the Midwest Haidong Gumdo group. In August 2010, saw the beginning of a new working relationship with the USA Haidong Gumdo Association Senior Chief Master Marshall Parnell.View a cutting demos from the 1st Pan American Championships (2011) here – five cuts on two bamboo sticks at the 2011 Haidong Gumdo Pan American Championships…..four cuts on two double mats at the 2011 Lake Superior Dragon Festival.In June 2009, he created White Tiger Martial Arts to provide martial arts courses through a variety of Minnesota locations. This is an expansion of Sparrow Institute philosophy. Once established and other like-minded instructors are found, work will begin on opening a full-time schools as additional locations.The USA Hall of Fame honor of Korean Martial Arts Master of the Year was awarded to him in April 2014. Additional recognition as the Minnesota State Co-Director of the Martial Arts Alliance was confirmed in October 2014. The 2015 USA Hall of Fame brought an induction as the Haidong Gumdo Master of the Year.
Taekwondo Timeline:
1982 to 1990…..Karate North Taekwondo (Northern Taekwondo Assoc., Tom Sullivan, Chief Instructor).
12/1988 …..Certified 1st Dan Black Belt through the Northern Taekwondo Association – Karate North under Tom Sullivan, Chief Instructor.
12/1990…..Certified 2nd Dan Black Belt through the Northern Taekwondo Association – Karate North under Tom Sullivan, Chief Instructor.
4/1992…..Certified Kukkiwon 1st Dan Black Belt through Grandmaster Hee Sang Ro.
11/1993…..Certified 3rd Dan Black Belt through the Northern Taekwondo Association – Karate North under Tom Sullivan, Chief Instructor.
10/1998…..Certified Fourth Dan Black Belt through the North American Taekwondo Federation & World Song Moo Kwan Association under Grandmaster Hee Sang Ro.
5/1999…..Certified Kukkiwon 2nd Dan Black Belt under Grandmaster Hee Sang Ro.
6/2000…..Certified 4th Dan Black Belt through Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Taekwondo.
8/2002…..Certified 4th Dan Black Belt through American Song Moo Kwan Association.
8/2003…..Certified 5th Dan Master Black Belt through the American Song Moo Kwan Association.
1/2009…..Certified 6th Dan Master Black Belt through the International Song Moo Kwan Association.
9/2013…..Certified Kukkiwon 4th Dan Black Belt
5/2017…..Certified 7th Dan Senior Master through World Song Moo Kwan United under SGM Joon Pyo Choi.
10/2021…Certified 8th Dan Grand Master through World Song Moo Kwan United under SGM Joon Pyo Choi.
3/2024...Certified 9th Dan Grand Master through World Song Moo Kwan Federation Board of Examiners.
Grandmaster Mark Isbister
8th Dan
Member, Board of Examiners
WSMKF East Coast Director
Grandmaster Raymond Fay
8th Dan
Member, Board of Examiners
Master Michael Farmer
7th Dan
Member, Board of Examiners
WSMKF Southeast Director
Master Farmer was born on May 3, 1944, at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington D.CHis father was in the Marine Corps fighting in the Pacific.His mother worked for the DOD in the Pentagon.In 1952, his family moved to their family farm in Southern Illinois due to the Cold War, since the Soviet Union had targeted D.C. and then moved again to St. Louis in 1961.Master Farmer graduated from CBC Military High School in 1962. Soon after, he joined the U.S. Navy in August of 1963. He served 7 years and returned home in 1970. He married his wife that year and started training with Master Bong Yul Shin in Judo and Moo Duk Kwan Taekwondo and received his black belt in both arts in 1974.Master Farmer trained with martial arts pioneer Fred Wren from 1975 through 1978. Master Farmer then moved to Cincinnati Ohio and began training with GM Il-Kwon Kim at the Glenway school of Song Moo Kwan. He taught at the Glenway school and the YMCA until he left in 1990 for a job in Orlando Florida. Master Farmer achieved the rank of 5th Dan in 1995, 6th Dan in 2017 and 7th Dan in 2023. From 1970 to 1990, Master Farmer competed in the traditional fighting style of Song Moo Kwan, without headgear, handpads or foot pads. During all of his training, he trained to control his techniques until he needed to make full contact. In 1993, Master Farmer started teaching at a YMCA in Lakeland Florida. His classes were small but had dedicated students since he specifically only taught adult students. He established his organization, Florida Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo Association, in 1993 and opened his school in 1994 but had to close it in 2010 due to business travel. Today, he teaches private lessons.
Master Patrick Brown
7th Dan
Member, Board of Examiners
WSMKF Central Director
Master William Zimmer
6th Dan
Member, Board of Examiners